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Charles I of England
Charles I of England (19 November 1600-30 January 1649) was the King of England from 27 March 1625 to 30 January 1649, succeeding James I and preceding Charles II. Charles, like his father, was a staunch absolutist and a believer in the "divine right to rule", and his clashes with Parliament eventually resulted in the start of the English Civil War in 1642. King Charles and his Royalist forces were defeated by the Parliamentarians in two civil wars, and, in 1649, Charles was found guilty of high treason by Parliament and beheaded at the Palace of Whitehall. His death was followed by an "Interregnum" period during which the monarchy was abolished and replaced by the English Commonwealth and the Protectorate, and it was not until 1660 that the monarchy was restored in the person of his son, Charles II. Biography Early life Charles Stuart was born in Dunfermline Palace, Fife, Scotland on 19 November 1600, the son of King James VI of Scotland and Anne of Denmark. He was the first cousin twice removed of Queen Elizabeth I of England, and, upon Elizabeth's death in 1603, his father James became King of England as well as King of Scotland. In 1605, as the King's second son, he was named Duke of York by his father, and he became a Knight of the Bath in 1605 and a Knight of the Garter in 1611. After his older brother Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales died in 1612 at the age of 18, Charles became the new Prince of Wales and his father's heir apparent. In January 1623, he and George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham were sent to Spain to arrange a marriage agreement which could unite Protestant England with the Catholic Habsburgs and bring peace to Europe. However, he returned in October after failing to find a Spanish bride, and England entered into the Thirty Years' War as an enemy of Spain shortly after. Early reign On 27 March 1625, King James died, and Charles succeeded him as King of England and Scotland. On 1 May 1625, Charles married Henrietta Maria of France via proxy, and they met in person in Canterbury on 13 June; Charles provided France with seven warships for use in the capture of La Rochelle from the Huguenots. Charles was crowned on 2 February 1626, and the Duke of Buckingham dominated policy during his early reign, launching a war against Spain in the New World with the intention of capturing Spain's treasure fleets. In 1627, Charles betrayed France by sending English ships to assist the Huguenots of La Rochelle against the French crown, but the Duke of Buckingham's failure to relieve the Huguenots led to his political downfall; on 23 August 1628, Buckingham was assassinated. In November 1628, he settled his early quarrels with his French wife, and their bond grew stronger upon the birth of their first child. In 1629, he briefly let Parliament reconvene before proroguing it for its staunchly anti-Catholic and anti-Arminian resolutions; that same year, he made peace with France and Spain. Charles then began an era of absolutist "personal rule" without reconvening Parliament, and the British Isles enjoyed 11 years of stability. Personal rule King Charles supported the traditions and sacraments of the Church of England against Puritan reformers, who sought to purify the church of Catholic influences and doctrines, appointing William Laud as Archbishop of Canterbury and supporting the implementation of Catholic practices such as decorated altars and grand ceremonies. Charles also attempted to impose the episcopal church structure on the Calvinist Church of Scotland, which had previously been a Presbyterian polity; Charles' attempt at forcing the Scots' adoption of the Anglican Book of Common Prayer led to the outbreak of the Bishops' Wars, during which the Scottish Covenanters rose in rebellion against the Royalists loyal to King Charles. In 1640, King Charles was forced to reconvene Parliament to levy new taxes to fund the dispatch of armies to crush the Scottish revolt, but this Short Parliament demanded reforms in exchange for their support, leading to King Charles dismissing them. In 1641, Charles called another session of Parliament, the "Long Parliament", hoping to maintain his army in Scotland with new taxes. This new Parliament had not forgotten King Charles' absolutist tendencies, and they demanded that the Crown relinquish all authority over Parliament. When Parliament discovered that the King's advisor Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford had suggested that the King impeach the five members of the House of Commons who suggested the decentralizing bill, the Puritan-dominated Parliament passed a bill of attainder against Strafford and forced the King to sign a warrant for the Earl's death on the grounds of high treason. English Civil War ]]Strafford's execution in 1641 was an affront to the King, who found that Parliament was now actively challenging his power. His wife was incensed when the Puritans demanded that he crack down on Catholic interference in the English government and relinquish the Crown's authority over Parliament. On 3 January 1642, King Charles ordered the arrest of Puritan MPs John Pym, John Hampden, Denzil Holles, William Strode, and Arthur Haselrig after accusing them of collaborating with the invading Scottish Covenanters, but they were tipped off about the King's plans and succeeded in escaping. When King Charles questioned Speaker of the House William Lenthall as to the missing MPs' whereabouts, Lenthall politely yet defiantly responded, "May it please your Majesty, I have neither eyes to see nor tongue to speak in this place but as the House is pleased to direct me, whose servant I am here." King Charles' botched arrest attempt led to the country being pushed to the brink of civil war, and King Charles fled London on 10 January 1642, fearing for his safety. He declared Parliament to be in a state of rebellion and raised the royal standard at Nottingham on 22 August 1642, effectively declaring war on Parliament and the Parliamentarian militias. Charles set up his court and a Royalist parliament at Oxford, opposing the Long Parliament in London. King Charles personally commanded Royalist field armies in several major field battles, including the Battle of Edgehill, the Second Battle of Newbury, and the Battle of Naseby, at which his army was annihilated. In 1646, the King fled Oxford as it was besieged by Parliamentarian forces, and he was forced to surrender to the invading Covenanters, who handed him over to the Parliamentarians. Second Civil War and downfall On 26 December 1647, King Charles signed a secret treaty with the Scots and agreed to make Presbyterianism the established religion of England for three years in exchange for Scottish military support against the Parliamentarians. In May 1648, the Scots invaded England, initiating the Second English Civil War. In August 1648, the Royalists were defeated at the Battle of Preston, putting a quick end to the Second Civil War. Charles was recaptured and found guilty of high treason for initiating a second civil war, and he refused to cooperate with President of the Court John Bradshaw during the trial, as he refused to recognize the body trying him as a legitimate court. King Charles was found guilty of all of the deaths and atrocities committed during the Civil War, and, on 27 January 1649, he was sentenced to death by beheading at the Palace of Whitehall. Before his death, he met with his children Elizabeth Stuart and Henry Stuart, giving a Bible to his daughter and instructing his son not to accept the throne from the Parliamentarians so long as his brothers Charles and James were alive. Execution On 30 January 1649, Charles walked to the site of his execution while wearing two coats, refusing to allow for the crowd to see him shivering in the cold, lest they believe that he was trembling out of fear. Charles walked under guard from St. James' Palace to Whitehall, where he mounted the execution platform and addressed the crowd, telling them, "I shall go from a corruptible to an incorruptible Crown, where no disturbance can be." At 2:00 PM, he put his head on the block and proceeded to pray before stretching his arms out, signalling for the executioner to let his axe down and behead him. Charles' execution was followed by the abolition of the monarchy a few days later, and it was not until 1660 that the throne was restored in the person of his son, Charles II, in the Restoration. Gallery King Charles praying.png|King Charles praying, 1640 King Charles 1640.png|King Charles in 1640 Charles I Naseby.png|Charles at the Battle of Naseby, 1645 Charles I Oxford.png|Charles I at Oxford, 1646 Charles I 1649.png|Charles on trial, 1649 Charles I execution.png|Charles' execution Category:1600 births Category:1649 deaths Category:English kings Category:English Category:Scots Category:Kings Category:Protestants Category:Killed Category:Cavaliers Category:English conservatives Category:Conservatives Category:Anglicans Category:Scottish kings